May 6, 2002

MOTHER'S DAY is Sunday and Sunol offers an impressive array of ways to celebrate your lovin' mom. Elliston Vineyards (463 Kilkare Road) is having a fabulous lunch on Mother's Day at 1 p.m., starting with champagne and hors d'oeuvres. Executive Chef Brian Krediet is preparing a seated three-course meal with your choice of tournedos of beef, roast arctic char or slow roasted poussin (that's chicken, y'know), and finishing with pecan and chocolate tart with maple crème fraiche. For reservations ($55 per person), contact Elliston's events office at 925-862-2377.

Sunol's Main Street will be a veritable Mother's Day bouquet of opportunities for you and mom. Bosco's Bones and Brew (11922 Main Street) is serving a special all-you-can-eat brunch featuring prime rib, leg of lamb, breakfast items, vegetable quiche, salmon, chicken, cold salads, shrimp, fruit, cheese, vegetable platters, smoked salmon, and a wonderful assortment of desserts. Bosco's reminds us that the fact that mom won't have to clean up never hurts. The price is $25.95 per adult and $9.95 for children under ten and the brunch seating will be from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reservations are strongly recommended (925-862-0821).

The Pacific Locomotive Association will be running their Niles Canyon Railroad on Mother's Day and offers this unusual piece of advice: "Throw Mama ON the train!" There are two modes of transportation available, with the 1940's diesel train running at 10:30 a.m., 12 noon, and 1:30 and 3 p.m., and the M200 "Skunk Train" running at 11:15 a.m., and 12:24 and 2:15 p.m.

The train folks have something special planned for Mother's Day and promised details soon at their Web site at www.ncry.org. A donation is suggested of $8 for adults, $7 for seniors, and $4 for children three through 12. Kidlets under three ride free. Donations help the NCR operate and grow, as all work is done by volunteers.

So what's a Skunk Train, you might ask? It looks sort of like a big yellow bus, and was built in 1926 for the logging railroads. It gained fame on the California Western Line between Willets and Fort Bragg, is available for charters and seats up to 36 passengers.

If coffee, tea, pastries, a light lunch, and tastings of some delectable wines are more what you're after, Little Valley Vineyard Espresso Bar and Tasting Room (11918 Main Street) will be open on Mother's Day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with wine tasting starting at noon. All the paperwork is finally completed, and Little Valley's wines are now available for tasting and purchase by the glass or bottle.

And of course, there's the Sunol Coffee House and Cafe, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner on Sunday in the quaint, historic building at 11882 Main Street. It's a fact that nobody's mom need go hungry in downtown Sunol.

Traveling just a few moments out of downtown, you can also find a sumptuous Mother's Day feast at the Sunol Valley Golf Club, located at 6900 Mission Road off the Andrade Road exit from I-680. Sunol Valley's Mother's Day Champagne Brunch features elegant food prepared by Chef Sedgie Davis, including breakfast items, pasta and omelet stations, numerous salads, garlic mashed potatoes, rice pilaf, prime rib, smoked pork loin, oysters, mahi mahi, chicken, lamb chops, shrimp, and lots more.

The cost is $27 for adults, $27 for seniors, $17 for children six through twelve, and kids under six can cruise this spectacular buffet for free. Hurry and make your reservation, as the first 400 moms will receive a fresh Hawaiian lei. Please call 925-862-2404 ext. 218, or 925-862-2408 for reservations.

In the midst of all that fun and food, let's not lose sight of the real meaning of this day. Mothers are the heart of our families, our communities and our world. Give yours a big hug and say thank you for all the amazing things she does, and how much she loves you no matter what you do.